While many readers know of Jack London’s “Call of the Wild,” how many remember that his sled dog, Buck, was born right here in the City of Santa Clara? You’ll need to read, or re-read, the book to get the details, and that is just a single reason of many that Santa Clara was chosen as one of the 75 communities throughout the United States for the BIG READ event. This event is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, which allows libraries, schools and other cultural organizations in a community to select a classic American novel from a prescribed list of titles and offer programs, lectures, and book discussions revolving around the selected book and its author. Santa Clara selected the novel, “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London. Jack London had many friends in the Santa Clara Valley, so this book will provide an opportunity to explore late 19th/early 20th century Santa Clara Valley history. The Big Read will take place from March 15 through April 19, 2011.
The kick-off to this month-long event takes place at Mission College on Wednesday, March 16th at Mission College, where there will be the reading of a proclamation, a few speeches, and distribution of free copies of “The Call of the Wild” in the campus quad, between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. For information about the other related activities, The Santa Clara City Library wants you to read The Call of the Wild and join in the area-wide discussion at one or more of over 20 events taking place at the City’s libraries, at many of the City’s museums and at Santa Clara University. For more information call the library at 408-615-2900, or go online to http://library.santaclara.gov